National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC): Improve Your HEI to World Level - Step by Step ! Know how to Proceed " Discover Apply Succeed"!!

Prof.(Dr.) D G Mahto, Founder & CEO -

Abstract

NAAC accreditation is something even higher education institutes should be aware of. As obtaining NAAC accreditation for higher education institution has many benefits some of them are:

  • Using a continuous evaluation process NAAC accreditation helps the institution identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
  • Helps in understanding the need for proper allocation of resources.
  • Helps to understand the need for planning in the internal matters
  • Offers a better identity to the institute
  • Introduces the market with the quality of courses offered
  • Provides a positive impact to the institution.
Keywords
NAAC, Accreditation, National Assessment and Accreditation Council, Quality Education, Teaching Methods

Learning Outcomes
After undergoing this article you will be able to understand about NAAC - what it is, how to proceed and parameters of assessment + much more

So let's get set go...

NAAC Certification : The True Benefits
In higher education, quality assurance plays a crucial role in maintaining academic standards and promoting continuous improvement. In India, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is an autonomous body dedicated to ensuring quality in higher education. It provides accreditation to higher education institutions based on their fulfillment of specified criteria. However, the value of NAAC accreditation extends far beyond merely receiving the certificate. It offers numerous benefits that significantly contribute to the overall development of an institution.

Why Accreditation, why NAAC?
One of the most significant benefits of NAAC accreditation is that it publicly recognizes an institution’s quality. 

The accreditation status signals to potential students, parents, and employers that the institution meets or exceeds the standards set by an independent accrediting body.

This recognition can enhance the institution’s reputation and standing, making it a more attractive choice for prospective students and faculty members.

Another substantial benefit of NAAC accreditation is the enhancement of quality education. 

The NAAC’s evaluation criteria encourage institutions to strive for excellence in all aspects of their functioning, including teaching, research, community engagement, and governance.

By working towards meeting these criteria, institutions inevitably improve their educational practices and outcomes, leading to a better learning experience for students.

Furthermore, NAAC accreditation stimulates a culture of self-evaluation and continuous improvement within institutions. The process involves a thorough self-study by the institution, followed by an external review. 

This introspective exercise allows institutions to identify their strengths and weaknesses, leading to systematic action plans for improvement. The periodic reassessment required for maintaining accreditation ensures that institutions continually enhance their performance and quality.

NAAC accreditation also promotes accountability and transparency. The accreditation process involves a comprehensive assessment of the institution’s operations and outcomes, which are made public. 

This transparency ensures that institutions are accountable to their stakeholders, including students, parents, the government, and the community.

Moreover, NAAC accreditation facilitates greater collaboration and funding opportunities. Many funding agencies prefer to invest in NAAC-accredited institutions due to their demonstrated commitment to quality. 

Similarly, other higher education institutions in India and abroad are more likely to engage in research collaborations or student exchange programs with NAAC-accredited institutions.

Lastly, NAAC accreditation catalyzes institutional innovation. The quest for quality improvement often drives institutions to adopt innovative practices in teaching, research, administration, and student support services. 

These innovative practices enhance the institution’s performance and contribute to the broader higher education sector by serving as best practice models.

In today’s data-driven world, having an efficient system to manage, analyze, and report institutional data is crucial for pursuing and maintaining NAAC accreditation. 

In sum and substance, As per NAAC accreditation, institutions get an excellent opportunity to-

  • Multiply its productivity & efficiency
  • Figure out the shortcomings & academic strengths
  • Enhance teaching-learning processes
  • Continuously improve the plan of action

Thus, the NAAC accreditation stands for a reliable methodology to maximize student & institutional success.


NAAC Accreditation Process

NAAC’s accreditation process is more about Quality Assurance (QA). The latest framework of NAAC accreditation primarily requires 

  • Institutional data & reports submission
  • Data verification & validation
  • Proof & documents to support the reports
  • ICT-enabled education
  • Student feedback

According to the NAAC the NAAC accreditation process is an amalgamation of these aspects and can be summarized in the following steps.

  • Registration of the HEIs on the NAAC official website
  • Compilation of the institutional data & information for initial Quality Assessment (IIQA)
  • The submission of the self-study reports - SSR after the acceptance of IIQA (If it is rejected then the educational institutions get two more attempts to resume the process within 1 year)
  • Data Validation & Verification Process - DVV process & Pre-qualifier Score (System Generated Scores, SGS along with the online evaluation weighs - 70% and the peer judgement is only 30%)
  • SSS or the Student Satisfaction Survey after the DVV
  • NAAC peer team visit in the institution for further verification
  • Final grades are assigned to the institution

What Is The Assessment And Accreditation (A&A) Framework Of NAAC?

The Revised A & A Framework of NAAC reflects the paradigm shift in the evaluation of the educational core values. Introduced in July 2017, the major highlights of the assessment process are as follows-

  • Qualitative peer judgment is replaced with the updated data-based quantitative analysis to obtain better transparency
  • ICT-enabled institutions can qualify the quality test more swiftly as it promotes the use of the edTech
  • Simplification of the reports
  • Pre-qualifier for the NAAC peer team visit - SGS score -30%
  • Online evaluation score - 70% weightage
  • New element of the third party data validation
  • More participation of alumni & students in the overall NAAC assessment process

The NAAC committee demands documents & compliance for the past five years. Here institutions need to be careful in compiling a vast chunk of data as the probability of errors is high.

If everything falls in line, the institutions get successfully accredited.

NAAC Criteria: 

As per NAAC assessment relies on the following set of 7 criteria.


#1: Curricular Aspects

Curriculum & syllabus is one of the basic pillars of quality education. It's crucial to have a relevant, detailed, well-organized syllabus to boost the student learning outcomes & skills.

#2: Teaching, Learning, And Evaluation

This criterion takes the first criteria of curriculum designing one step ahead. It involves teachers implementing teaching-learning activities & keeping a tab on the results to enhance student progress.

#3: Research, Innovation, And Extensions

This criterion suggests that institutions must focus on directing students towards research & innovation and also addressing real-life problems & solutions to enable students to grow personally.

#4: Infrastructure And Learning Resources

This criterion focuses on having good classrooms, labs, edTech tools, and various other infrastructure & resources to ensure a good educational environment.

#5: Student Support And Progression

This criterion recommends institutions to pay attention to students’ requirements and guide them at every step of their academic life.

#6: Governance, Leadership, And Management

Faculty empowerment is vital when it comes to the quality of education. This criterion suggests authorities of the institution to plan strategies for institutional growth by mentoring faculties.

#7: Institutional Values & Best Practices

This criterion focuses on ensuring the best practices by following the institutional values. It suggests that institutions must develop values & then follow them with utmost honesty.

The NAAC committee has further categorized the HEIs into three bodies - University, Autonomous College, and Affiliated/Constituent Colleges and has decided their assessment criteria based on the category in which they fall into.


Summarily, NAAC Accreditation Criteria are 

#1: Curricular Aspects. ...

#2: Teaching, Learning, and Evaluation. ...

#3: Research, Innovation, and Extensions. ...

#4: Infrastructure and Learning Resources. ...

#5: Student Support and Progression. ...

#6: Governance, Leadership, and Management. ...

#7: Institutional Values & Best Practices.

The Criterion-Wise Weightage For 3 Types Of HEIs

Curricular Aspects150 (U)150 (Au)100 (Aff UG)100 (Aff PG)
Teaching-learning & Evaluation200 (U)300 (Au)350 (Aff UG)350 (Aff PG)
Research, Innovations & Extension250 (U)150 (Au)110 (Aff UG)120 (Aff PG)
Infrastructure & Learning Resources100 (U)100 (Au)100 (Aff UG)100 (Aff PG)
Student Support & Progression100 (U)100 (Au)140 (Aff UG)130 (Aff PG)
Governance, Leadership & Management100 (U)100 (Au)100 (Aff UG)100 (Aff PG)
Institutional Values & Best Practices100 (U)100 (Au)100 (Aff UG)100 (Aff PG)


Benefits Of Obtaining NAAC Accreditation For Colleges

Here are the top advantages of obtaining NAAC accreditation for higher education institutions.

  • Helps the institution identify its weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, and threats using a continuous evaluation process
  • Helps to understand the need for planning in the internal areas and allocating resources
  • Improves campus collegiality
  • The result provides objective data from funding agencies on performance financing
  • Introduces institutions with modern and innovative educational methods
  • Elevates the institution image and offers a new direction of success
  • Provide the market with consistent details about the quality of courses offered
  • An organization that recruits candidates have a reach to these details about the educational quality provided by the college
  • Makes inter-and-intra institutional communication possible

What are top tools for NAAC accreditation?
Of course in technical field, there are so many tools available. 

Among them few of them are as follows 

CleverGround 

It provides a cloud-based Accreditation Data Management System for assembling, managing & compiling entire institutional data & generating reports in desired formats for NAAC / NBA & other agencies. Useful for Universities, Autonomous & Affiliated colleges, the system is integrated with graphical tools by which the coordinators can efficiently monitor the data entries. Date-stamped data maintenance on the highly secured server with multiple backups ensure data security & accuracy & thus, help stakeholders to get ready for various accreditations.

The other software are


Faculty Empowerment
Strategies 

Strategy development and deployment

Conclusions

After the onsite assessment the team prepares a qualitative report which is generated after identifying the strengths, weakness, opportunities and challenges(SWOC) and assigns scores on the qualitative metrics

The NAAC assigns final grades to the institution by combining all the following three scores

  1. Peer Team Report
  2. Statistical Analysis of Quantitative Metrics 
  3. Institutional Grade Sheet

Prof. (Dr.) D. G. Mahto is a multifaceted professional, serving as a Director, Professor, Philanthropist, HEI Builder, prolific writer, international consultant, reviewer, and expert career advisor at "Career Education for Success—Discover, Apply, Succeed!" He has guided countless individuals, products, and brands in discovering their true potential through insightful content, purposeful concepts, and motivational writing. With a deep sense of leadership and a commitment to community upliftment, he inspires others with his success stories and takes on the challenge of driving technological transformation, redefining social impact, and fostering interpersonal relationships for a more meaningful, balanced life. Prof. Mahto is dedicated to bridging the gap between dreams and reality for young people, striving for qualitative change in their lives. To explore his articles, books, and international journal contributions, visit his blogs at Career Education Success Now, Career Edus, and Discover Knowledge Wisely. You can also reach out to him via email.

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